"BJP should remove such leaders from party": Congress chief on Anantkumar Hegde's 'change Constitution' remark

New Delhi: Bharatiya Janata Party MP from Karnataka, Anantkumar Hegde, has stirred controversy by calling for voters to give a two-thirds majority to his party in the Lok Sabha to enable amendments to the Constitution, with the Congress criticising it widely, asking the ruling party to take action against its MP.
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, while addressing a press conference here at party headquarters, hit out at the BJP and said that the 'ruling party at the center has not fully accepted the Constitution' which he termed 'unfortunate'.
"It is unfortunate that the BJP has not fully accepted the Constitution. On one hand, the PM says that the Constitution will never be changed, on the other hand, he asks his people to say that a two-third majority is required to amend the Constitution. This is not said by a normal person or a fringe element, they are leaders and MPs of the BJP. They have been saying this and today again, they again repeated this in Karnataka that the Constitution must be amended," Kharge said.
He further asked the BJP to expel Hegde if it did not endorse his views.
"If BJP believes in BR Ambedkar it should remove such people from party, not give them poll tickets. If PM Modi has courage, then throw out the leader who has talked about changing the Constitution from the party. On one hand, PM Modi himself remains silent on such things, on the other hand he talks about protecting the Constitution," Kharge added.
Anantkumar Hegde on Saturday stirred a controversy by calling for voters to give a two-thirds majority to his party in the Lok Sabha to enable amendments to the Constitution and undo the "unnecessary laws introduced to subjugate the Hindu community".
The Congress President earlier too criticised the BJP MP for his statement.
"BJP MP's statement that they need 400 seats to rewrite the Constitution, yet again exposes Modi-RSS' devious agenda to impose dictatorship! Modi Govt, BJP and RSS secretly desire impose Dictatorship, whereby -- They will impose their Manuvaadi Mindset on the people of India and snatch away the rights of SCs, STs and OBC's. -- There will be NO Elections, or at the most, just sham elections. -- Independence of institutions shall be curtailed. -- Freedom of expression shall be bulldozed. -- RSS & BJP will destroy our Secular fabric and unity in diversity" the Congress President said in his post on X on Sunday.He further said that such statements by the BJP leaders are 'a direct assault on the unquestionable ethos of sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic espoused by our Constitution makers'.
"Indian National Congress will not allow these ulterior motives of the Sangh Parivar to succeed. Such repeated calls by the BJP-RSS, from time to time are a direct assault on the unquestionable ethos of Sovereign, Socialist, Secular, Democratic espoused by our Constitution makers. Justice, Equality, and Liberty are the strong pillars of the Constitution and any change in these principles would be an insult to the India envisioned by Babasaheb Dr Ambedkar and our revered founders. It is the solemn responsibility of every Indian to protect our Democracy and Constitution" he added.
The BJP, however distanced itself from Hegde's statement saying that his views on the Constitution are his personal and that the party have sought a response from the Karnataka MP."MP Ananth Kumar Hegde's remarks on the Constitution are his personal views and do not reflect the party's stance. @BJP4India reaffirms our unwavering commitment to uphold the nation's Constitution and will ask for an explanation from Hegde regarding his comments," the BJP posted on X just hours after its MP made the comments.